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Lowering LDL will greatly reduce your chances of getting heart disease, having a stroke, or having a heart attack. Usually, when treating high cholesterol, this is the first line of defense. You can accomplish this by diet and exercise in the beginning. However, if that doesn't help, you can always try taking a prescription medication to reduce the LDL. But, for long term, it's smart to think of other measures to prevent the diseases that high cholesterol can preclude.

Raising HDL is another great way to help prevent heart disease. HDL is what is known as "good" cholesterol. It acts as sort of a cleanser for your arteries. You can raise your HDL by aerobic exercise, losing weight, and smoking cessation. You can also include 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day. However, you must be careful to limit the amount of alcohol you intake, and don't exceed 1-2 per day, as that actually increases your chance of having bad cholesterol.

Everyone has heard a lot about the negative effects of "trans fats". But, do you know what trans fats are, or what they do? Many prepared foods that include partially hydrogenated vegetable oils include trans fats. Trans fats are bad for you because they act as a double whammy on your body. They not only increase the LDL (bad cholesterol), they also decrease the HDL (good cholesterol). So, cutting as many trans fats out of your diet as possible would help innumerably in the long run.

Another good idea for long term cholesterol control is to add oats, fruits, vegetables, and legumes to your diet. These help reduce LDL and raise HDL, which, as we have been discussing, is a very smart move.

So, lowering LDL may be enough at first. But, for the sake of your health, and the prevention of high cholesterol returning to ravage your poor body, it's always a good idea to begin building some defense mechanisms against the evils of high cholesterol, and the risk of getting heart disease or having a stroke down the road.

Learn more about this author, Elizabeth Kelley.
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